BMT Broadway Line

BMT Broadway Line
Services that use the BMT Broadway Line have been colored yellow since 1979.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit line
System	New York City Subway
Status	Operational
Locale	Manhattan, New York City, New York
Termini	east of Lexington Avenue / 59th Street south of Whitehall Street – South Ferry
Stations	16
Services	3
Daily ridership	748,925[1]
Operation
Opened	April 9, 1917
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Underground
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

BMT Broadway Line
Legend
BMT Astoria Line 60th Street Tunnel under East River 60th Street Tunnel Connection IRT Lexington Avenue Line Lexington Avenue / 59th Street Roosevelt Island Tramway IRT Lexington Avenue Line Fifth Avenue / 59th Street IND Sixth Avenue Line BMT 63rd Street Line 57th Street – Seventh Avenue IND Queens Boulevard & Sixth Avenue lines 49th Street IRT 42nd Street Shuttle Times Square – 42nd Street IRT Flushing Line 34th Street – Herald Square IND Sixth Avenue Line 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street – Union Square BMT Canarsie Line Eighth Street – New York University IND Sixth Avenue Line Prince Street IRT Lexington Avenue & BMT Nassau Street lines Canal Street local tracks upper level | express tracks lower level BMT Fourth Avenue and Brighton lines Manhattan Bridge City Hall lower level out of use City Hall Yard IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line IND Eighth Avenue Line Cortlandt Street Rector Street IRT Lexington Avenue Line Whitehall Street – South Ferry BMT Nassau Street Line BMT Fourth Avenue Line Montague Street Tunnel under East River

The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. As of June 2010, it is served by three services, all colored sunflower yellow: the Q on the express tracks and the N Q R on the local tracks. The line is often referred to as the "N and R",^[2][3] since those were the only services on the line during the long years that the Manhattan Bridge south tracks were closed for rebuilding. The Broadway Line was built to give the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (later the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation) access to Midtown Manhattan.

The line is named for its location under Broadway between Vesey Street and Seventh Avenue (Times Square). It also passes under Vesey Street, Whitehall Street, Trinity Place, and Church Street in Lower Manhattan, and Seventh Avenue, 59th Street, and 60th Street in Midtown. The local tracks stretch the entire length between the two East River tunnels: the Montague Street Tunnel to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn and the 60th Street Tunnel to the BMT Astoria Line and 60th Street Tunnel Connection in Queens. Center express tracks exist between Canal Street and 57th Street, turning off at Canal Street to feed the south tracks on the Manhattan Bridge, and continuing north and east under Central Park as the BMT 63rd Street Line (presently unused, but planned to connect with the Second Avenue Subway). The Broadway Line was the only Manhattan outlet north of Delancey Street for the BMT's Brooklyn lines until 1967, when most BMT Brighton Line and BMT West End Line trains were moved to the IND Sixth Avenue Line via the new Chrystie Street Connection.

Extent and service

Services that use the Broadway Line are colored sunflower yellow.

Route		Services
	Time period	South of Whitehall St	Between Whitehall St and Canal St	Canal St via Bridge	Between Canal St and 42 St	49 St and 57 St	Between 57 St and Lexington Ave
	All times except nights	no service		local
	Nights	local		no service	local
	Weekdays	no service		express		local
	Weekends	no service		express			no service
	Nights	no service		local			no service
	All times except nights	local		no service	local
	Nights	no service

The BMT Broadway Line begins at the 60th Street Tunnel from Queens. It runs west as a two-track subway line under 60th Street (east of Fifth Avenue) and 59th Street (west of Fifth Avenue), with stations at Lexington Avenue / 59th Street and Fifth Avenue / 59th Street. It then turns south to Seventh Avenue into the local tracks at 57th Street – Seventh Avenue. This segment of the line carries the N Q services from the BMT Astoria Line and the R service from the IND Queens Boulevard Line.

At the 57th Street station, the line joins two express tracks that enter the station from the north via the BMT 63rd Street Line. There is no scheduled BMT service on the 63rd Street Line at present. The BMT 63rd Street Line will carry the Q service across 63rd Street and up the proposed Second Avenue Line. The express tracks at 57th Street are currently used as terminal tracks for the Q train on late nights and weekends.

The BMT Broadway Line proceeds as a four-track subway down Seventh Avenue to its intersection with Broadway, and then continues down Broadway to a point north of Canal Street, where the express tracks carrying the N Q services descend and turn sharply east into the Canal Street (formerly Broadway) station of the BMT Broadway – Manhattan Bridge Line.

Immediately after Canal Street, the express tracks resume again (originally they had been intended to run through) and serve as storage and turning tracks, bypassing the Canal Street local station and ending in the disused lower level of City Hall. The local tracks continue south as a two-track subway to Whitehall Street – South Ferry station. Whitehall Street – South Ferry is a three track, two-platform station, with the center track set up as a terminal track, formerly used as the south terminal for now defunct W service. Now, the center track is currently only used during service disruptions. A pair of bellmouths exists here, allowing for a connection to a never-built East River tunnel south of the Montague Street Tunnel that would have connected to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.^[4] It has been proposed to use this as part of the Lower Manhattan – Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project, connecting to the Court Street station (New York Transit Museum) in Brooklyn.^[5][6]

The BMT Broadway Line then curves east carrying the N R trains to a trailing junction with the BMT Nassau Street Line (no regular service trains) and enters the Montague Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.

History

The New York Public Service Commission adopted plans for what was known as the Broadway–Lexington Avenue route on December 31, 1907. This route began at the Battery and ran under Greenwich Street, Vesey Street, Broadway to Ninth Street, private property to Irving Place, and Irving Place and Lexington Avenue to the Harlem River. After crossing under the Harlem River into the Bronx, the route split at Park Avenue and 138th Street, with one branch continuing north to and along Jerome Avenue to Woodlawn Cemetery, and the other heading east and northeast along 138th Street, Southern Boulevard, and Westchester Avenue to Pelham Bay Park. In early 1908, the Tri-borough plan was formed, combining this route, the under-construction Centre Street Loop Subway in Manhattan and Fourth Avenue Subway in Brooklyn, a Canal Street Subway from the Fourth Avenue Subway via the Manhattan Bridge to the Hudson River, and several other lines in Brooklyn.^[7][8]

The BRT proposal

The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company submitted a proposal to the Commission, dated March 2, 1911, to operate the Tri-borough system (but under Church Street instead of Greenwich Street), as well as a branch along Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 59th Street from Ninth Street north and east to the Queensboro Bridge; the Canal Street Subway was to merge with the Broadway Line instead of continuing to the Hudson River. The city, the BRT, and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (which operated the first subway and four elevated lines in Manhattan) came to an agreement, and sent a report to the Board of Estimate on June 5, 1911. The line along Broadway to 59th Street was assigned to the BRT, while the IRT obtained the Lexington Avenue line, connecting with its existing route at Grand Central – 42nd Street. Construction began on Lexington Avenue on July 31, and on Broadway the next year. The Dual Contracts, two operating contracts between the city and the BMT and IRT, were adopted on March 4, 1913.^[9] Originally, 49th Street was going to be an express station, and 57th Street station was to be a local station as reflected by original contract drawings. However, in 1914, it was switched, with 57th Street being the express station, and 49th Street being the local station.^[10]

Because of the complicated history, the Broadway Line includes several remnants of earlier plans. The line was built as four tracks south to City Hall, where the local tracks were to end at the upper level, and the express tracks were to use the lower level, curving through Vesey Street into Church Street. However, the final plan had the express tracks splitting at Canal Street and passing under the northbound local track to the Manhattan Bridge. The tunnel south of City Hall was rebuilt to bring the upper local tracks down to the lower level north of Vesey Street, and the lower level at City Hall was never used for passenger service.^[11][12]

Unused construction is also present near the west end of the Queensboro Bridge. The original plan there was to build two one-track tunnels under 59th and 60th Streets, rising onto the bridge to Queens. However, plans were changed in 1915 to place both tracks under 60th Street and cross the East River in the 60th Street Tunnel, in part due to heavy vehicular traffic over the bridge. A piece of the 59th Street tunnel had already been built, concurrent with the construction of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, and became a walkway connecting the two side platforms of the IRT's 59th Street station.^[13]

The section of the Broadway Line from Union Square to Canal Street opened on September 4, 1917 at 2 P.M, with an eight car train carrying members of the Public Service Commission, representatives of the city government, officials of the BRT and invited guests left Union Square toward Coney Island. Service for the general public opened at 8 P.M. with trains leaving Union Square and Coney Island simultaneously.^[14]

Another unused provision existed for many years north of 57th Street, where the two express tracks ended before being connected to the BMT 63rd Street Line in 1989. Plans were made, but never carried through, to build a line northwest through Central Park and under Eighth Avenue through the Upper West Side to Inwood, along the route later built as the IND Eighth Avenue Line.^[15][16]

A short portion of the line, coming off the north side of the Manhattan Bridge through Canal Street to 14th Street – Union Square, opened on September 4, 1917.^[17] An extension north to Times Square – 42nd Street and south to Rector Street was completed on January 5, 1918.^[18] Further portions were opened south to Whitehall Street – South Ferry on September 20, 1918, north to 57th Street on July 10, 1919,^[19] and east to Lexington Avenue / 59th Street on September 1, 1919.^[20] Both East River tunnels - the 60th Street Tunnel to Queensboro Plaza and the Montague Street Tunnel to DeKalb Avenue - opened on August 1, 1920, completing the Broadway Line.^[21][22]

Service history

At most times, the Broadway Line has had four services — two local and two express — during the day, with a third express service until the 1967 opening of the Chrystie Street Connection.

• 1/QT (BMT Brighton Line) local trains ran until 1967, when the QT was discontinued. At that time, the EE was introduced, becoming part of the N in 1976; the N became express and the W became local in 2004.
• 1/Q (BMT Brighton Line) express trains were mostly moved to the IND Sixth Avenue Line as a relocated D in 1967, but a few trips stayed as the QB, later the Q again. During the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction, from the 1980s until 2001, the Q mostly used the IND Sixth Avenue Line. When restored in 2001, the Q became full-time, replacing the D on the Brighton Line.
• 2/RR (BMT Fourth Avenue Line) trains (later R) have run local over the Broadway Line since 1920.
• 3/T (BMT West End Line) trains ran express on the Broadway Line until 1967, when the T became part of the realigned B via the IND Sixth Avenue Line.
• 4/N (BMT Sea Beach Line) trains used the express tracks until the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction in the 1980s, when all N trips became local. (Some had run local since the EE was merged into the N in 1976.) When the Manhattan Bridge south tracks reopened in 2001, the W was introduced, at first running express; it became local in 2004, and the N moved back to the express tracks.

Several other services have used the express tracks, including the NX (Sea Beach, 1967–1968) and the B (West End) and D (Brighton) during closures of the Manhattan Bridge north tracks in the 1980s and 1990s.

The current set of three services — N Q R trains — have used the line since July 22, 2001, when the south tracks on the Manhattan Bridge reopened. Until February 22, 2004, when the north tracks reopened, however, the N was local and the now defunct W was express.

On June 28, 2010, the N began running local north of Canal Street at all times and the Q train was extended to/from Astoria, Queens via the 60th Street Tunnel in place of the W service (which was discontinued after June 25, 2010 due to MTA budget problems) on weekdays, and began stopping on the local tracks starting at Times Square – 42nd Street. In December 2014, the Q began running local on the line between Canal Street and 57th Street – Seventh Avenue during late nights.^[23]

On February 19, 2016, the MTA announced that the 2004-2010 service pattern would be restored a few months prior to the opening of the Second Avenue Subway in the Fall. The W train would be brought back running weekdays between Ditmars Boulevard and Whitehall Street, the N would run express in Manhattan between 34th Street–Herald Square and Canal Street during weekdays, and the Q would terminate at 57th Street–Seventh Avenue at all times until the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway opens.^[24][25][26]

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops late nights only
	Stops late nights and weekends only
	Stops weekdays only
	Stops rush hours only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Time period details

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Tracks	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
begins as a merge of the BMT Astoria Line (N  Q ) and the 60th Street Tunnel Connection (R ) and passes through the 60th Street Tunnel
Midtown Manhattan		Lexington Avenue / 59th Street	local	N  Q  R	September 1, 1919[20]	4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) MetroCard-only transfer to F  (IND 63rd Street Line at Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street) Roosevelt Island Tramway
		Fifth Avenue / 59th Street	local	N  Q  R	September 1, 1919[20]
	express tracks begin from the BMT 63rd Street Line (no regular service)
		57th Street – Seventh Avenue	all	N  Q  R	July 10, 1919[19]	Northern terminal for Q  service
	*	49th Street	local	N  Q  R	July 10, 1919
		Times Square – 42nd Street	all	N  Q  R	January 5, 1918[18]	1  2  3  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) 7  <7> (IRT Flushing Line) S  (42nd Street Shuttle) A  C  E  (IND Eighth Avenue Line at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal) Port Authority Bus Terminal
		34th Street – Herald Square	all	N  Q  R	January 5, 1918[18]	B  D  F  M  (IND Sixth Avenue Line) M34 / M34A Select Bus Service Connection to PATH at 33rd Street
NoMad		28th Street	local	N  Q  R	January 5, 1918[18]
Flatiron District		23rd Street	local	N  Q  R	January 5, 1918[18]
Union Square		14th Street – Union Square	all	N  Q  R	September 4, 1917[17]	4  5  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) L  (BMT Canarsie Line)
Greenwich Village		Eighth Street – New York University	local	N  Q  R	September 4, 1917[17]
SoHo		Prince Street	local	N  Q  R	September 4, 1917[17]
Chinatown		Canal Street	express (lower level) local (upper level)	N  Q  (express) N  R  (local)	September 4, 1917[17] (express) January 5, 1918[18] (local)	4  6  <6> (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) J  Z  (BMT Nassau Street Line) Express station originally known as Broadway
express tracks continue into Brooklyn via Manhattan Bridge south tracks (N  Q )
Civic Center		City Hall	local	N  R	January 5, 1918[18]
Financial District		Cortlandt Street	local	N  R	January 5, 1918[18]	Connection to PATH at World Trade Center
		Rector Street	local	N  R	January 5, 1918[18]
		Whitehall Street – South Ferry	all	N  R	September 20, 1918	1  (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) M15 Select Bus Service Staten Island Ferry at South Ferry
merges with BMT Nassau Street Line (no regular service)
continues into Brooklyn via the Montague Street Tunnel and becomes the BMT Fourth Avenue Line (N  R )

• *49th Street is accessible northbound only

References

1. MTA. "Average weekday subway ridership". Retrieved 2 April 2014.
2. Randy Kennedy, New York Times, Honoring the Champions, October 31, 2000, section B, page 10: "And the only reason she was standing in the middle of Broadway was that she was below it. Underground. In the N and R subway station."
3. Susan Saulny, New York Times, In Subway Changes, W Follows V, but for Riders It's Not So Simple, section B, page 1: "The Q, N, R and W trains would all run on N and R tracks in Manhattan."
4. Senate, New York (State) Legislature (1916-01-01). Documents of the Senate of the State of New York. E. Croswell.
5. Community Consulting Services, Inc. in association with George Haikalis, Transportation Consultant, Better Transit for Brooklyn: A Proposal for a Brooklyn Transit Agenda PDF (2.46 MiB), revised April 2003, page 49
6. Regional Rail Working Group, East River Tunnel PDF (687 KiB), page 4 (includes a map)
7. James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917, published 1918, pp. 207-223
8. Engineering News, A New Subway Line for New York City, Volume 63, No. 10, March 10, 1910
9. James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917, published 1918, pp. 224-241
10. Senate, New York (State) Legislature (1916-01-01). Documents of the Senate of the State of New York. E. Croswell.
11. Joseph Brennan, Abandoned Stations: City Hall (BMT) lower level, accessed March 21, 2007
12. Senate, New York (State) Legislature (1916-01-01). Documents of the Senate of the State of New York. E. Croswell.
13. Joseph Brennan, Abandoned Stations: Lexington Ave (BMT) unfinished platforms, accessed March 21, 2007
14. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
15. Transit Commission, New Subways: Proposed Additions to Rapid Transit System, 1922
16. Senate, New York (State) Legislature (1916-01-01). Documents of the Senate of the State of New York. E. Croswell.
17. New York Times, Open First Section of Broadway Line, September 5, 1917
18. New York Times, Open New Subway to Times Square, January 6, 1918
19. New York Times, Broadway End of Subway Opened, July 10, 1919, page 36
20. New York Times, Subway to Open Two New Stations, August 31, 1919, page 25
21. New York Times, Broadway-Fifty-Ninth Street Extension of B.R.T. Subway, August 1, 1920, page 92
22. New York Times, New B.R.T. Lines Open, August 2, 1920, page 17
24. "Ahead of 2nd Ave. Subway opening, MTA officially set to restore W service to Astoria". Second Ave. Sagas. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
25. "MTA Confirms W Train is Coming Back". TWC News. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
26. "MTA | Press Release | NYC Transit | MTA Advances Work On Second Avenue Subway Service". www.mta.info. Retrieved 2016-02-19.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to BMT Broadway Line at Wikimedia Commons